Op the true Divers among our British Birds the Grebes
and Dabchicks belong -to Jh a t division which ■ moriliparticu-
larly Sequent fresh water, and the Great-crested Grebe, the
largest of the genus,, is resident all thef 'year in several parts
of this country, which afford extenMve-;®ikfaceS->of water, partly
overgrown with reeds and otherluxuriant aquatic, vegetation,
in which they find the required security. They .breed,
and remain all the year, or by far the greater part of it, on
some of the lakes of Wales, on the meres:^-Shropshire and
Cheshire; on the broads of Norfolk, and in th,©^fens,qof
Lincolnshire.- They are seldom i.seen to fly^or walk. jESefr
wings are short and small, and ■the thighs and legs|pkqedr s o -
far behind the "centr^of gravity,'" and so .closely attached-to
the posterior part -r ofotheiffbody;, that they'sit upright o n -
the whole length of the'tarsus, and their w^lk%.-c©fistraiked.
I f the bird is-seeli on land it is generally'closMo-the edge;
of the water, into which, if disturbed, it -passes-with little^
or no noise'to attract- observation* .They are m o s t l ^ ^ ^
on .the water; the form of thewhoTe bird being thatTof an
elongated- cone, ;is admirably, adapted"for^diving, and tjteir
habits"can -only M ' observed by tho^'who JreHh the Vicinity
of their faivburifce pools.- -
_ I have been -favoured by the Rev. Richard Lubbock.ydth
notes on the habits of some of the various diwets,f as observed
on rthe broads-of Norfolk, where ‘ the -Great-crested
Grebe is^calleda Loon, and of which' species it-is stated
that they are persecuted from a doul!|; motivff; for-the
beauty of their plumage, and because they are considered
to be enemies to- fish. A pair or two are jt$i|b,e found on
most -of the extensive .poo%|durmg spring, summer, and
autumn, but they move over, towards^ the arms of the sea as
winter approaches, not remaining to be frozen out, and return
dearly in spring. The'nest isjrequently built in an exposed
situation, before the young reeds have sprouted sufficiently
to conceal it. When the nest is plundered, the bird immediately
makes anothèri in the vicinity and lays again. The
birds are more prone to’ take flight in spring than at other
seasohkof the’yeaf, but as soon a r thé eggs are deposited
ffilllli« niest, both male and female seem to trust entirely to
their powers óf diving fori preservation, and very seldom show
#éEffsel*VeS:. ' They generally dive away from their nest on
.disturbed* and thus . frequently escape observation ; a
ri%fefibratiott among' t|J§reeds being the only sign, of their
Thé afeflfc.'is'* composed of half-rottén decaying
water-plafits~nearly level with the?surface x>f the water, and
is- gebérally'-very’^ ë t^ il Thereggs are usually four in num-
white, and two in c% two lines, long, by ohe inch and
six Més in breadth. The parent birds are very careful of
their yörióg, taking them down with, them for security under
their'wings when they-dive. They-feed them with young
I p t ^ aUd other small fish, sfome small Crustacea, and a portion
ofJ xegeta^l^food’. Tadpölés and small frbgs are favourite
diet with them.
A fi$e adult ■ specimen belonging to the Ornithological
‘ Society, has been kept off the canal in St. James's Park more
than twelve months:. This bird has carried a good crest,
unaltered throughout thé;whoIe óf last winter; and at this
kime, May T8di2/'the crest As1 o f large size and fine in colour.
Unfortunately the Society pdsSess but a single example of
the species,1 apparently a fine? and old male. This bird does
not associate with any of the- other numerous water-fowl on
’ the Canal, he' swims low in the water, and generally keeps
- out iff the middle-of the widest part, frequently diving for
food, occasionally preening his plumage, and sometimes sleeps
-■ in mid-day, the head turned half round with the beak inserted
and hid among the feathers on the back.
Of several examples of the Great-crested Grebe which I
have examined internally, I never remember to have opened